Modeling the Monthly Distribution of MODIS Active Fire Detections from a Satellite-Derived Fuel Dryness Index by Vegetation Type and Ecoregion in Mexico
Daniel José Vega-Nieva,
María Guadalupe Nava-Miranda,
Jaime Briseño-Reyes,
Pablito Marcelo López-Serrano,
José Javier Corral-Rivas,
María Isabel Cruz-López,
Martin Cuahutle,
Rainer Ressl,
Ernesto Alvarado-Celestino,
Robert E. Burgan
Affiliations
Daniel José Vega-Nieva
Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Río Papaloapan y Blvd., Durango S/N Col. Valle del Sur, Durango 34120, Mexico
María Guadalupe Nava-Miranda
Instituto de Silvicultura e Industria de la Madera, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Boulevard del Guadiana 501, Ciudad Universitaria, Torre de Investigación, Durango 34120, Mexico
Jaime Briseño-Reyes
Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Río Papaloapan y Blvd., Durango S/N Col. Valle del Sur, Durango 34120, Mexico
Pablito Marcelo López-Serrano
Instituto de Silvicultura e Industria de la Madera, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Boulevard del Guadiana 501, Ciudad Universitaria, Torre de Investigación, Durango 34120, Mexico
José Javier Corral-Rivas
Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Río Papaloapan y Blvd., Durango S/N Col. Valle del Sur, Durango 34120, Mexico
María Isabel Cruz-López
Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Liga Periférico-Insurgentes Sur 4903, Parques del Pedregal, Del. Tlalpan, Mexico City 14010, Mexico
Martin Cuahutle
Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Liga Periférico-Insurgentes Sur 4903, Parques del Pedregal, Del. Tlalpan, Mexico City 14010, Mexico
Rainer Ressl
Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Liga Periférico-Insurgentes Sur 4903, Parques del Pedregal, Del. Tlalpan, Mexico City 14010, Mexico
Ernesto Alvarado-Celestino
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Mailbox 352100, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Robert E. Burgan
Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 1505 Khanabad Drive, Missoula, MT 59802, USA
The knowledge of the effects of fuel dryness on fire occurrence is critical for sound forest fire management planning, particularly in a changing climate. This study aimed to analyze the monthly distributions of MODIS active fire (AF) detections and their relationships with a fuel dryness index (FDI) based on satellite-derived weather and vegetation greenness. Monthly AF distributions showed unimodal distributions against FDI, which were described using generalized Weibull equations, fitting a total of 19 vegetation types and ecoregions analyzed in Mexico. Monthly peaks of fire activity occurred at lower FDI values (wetter fuels) in more hygrophytic ecosystems and ecoregions, such as wet tropical forests, compared to higher fire activity in higher FDI values (drier fuels) for the more arid ecosystems, such as desert shrublands. In addition, the range of fuel dryness at which most monthly fire activity occurred was wider for wetter vegetation types and regions compared to a narrower range of fuel dryness for higher monthly fire occurrence in the more arid vegetation types and ecoregions. The results from the current study contribute towards improving our understanding of the relationships between fuel dryness and fire occurrence in a variety of vegetation types and regions in Mexico.
